Bertha Elizabeth Crawford Obituary - Visitation & Funeral Information

BERTHA E. CRAWFORD NEW HARMONY, INDIANA Watch her Video Tribute at: http://www.werryfuneralhomes.com/obituaries/permalink/6862013/LTVideo Bertha Elizabeth (Rutledge) Crawford, 95, of New Harmony, Indiana, died peacefully Monday, August 24, at 6 p.m. at New Harmonie Healthcare Center in New Harmony, Indiana. She was born August 2, 1920, in Posey County’s Robb Township and graduated from Stewartsville High School in 1938. In 1940, she married Lowell Elwood Crawford, in Patoka, Indiana, whom she had known since childhood. In 1945, following his father’s death, they began farming full time, eventually acquiring the farm she was born on and which her grandparents had purchased in 1889. Woody and Bert, as they called each other, were happily married for 56 years, until his death in 1996. The daughter of George Rutledge and Mary (Rickens) Rutledge, she was the youngest and last surviving of nine siblings: Helen O’Dell, of New Harmony; Charles Rutledge, of Stewartsville; Jess Rutledge, of Stewartsville; Edmund Rutledge, of Wadesville; Mabel Montgomery, of New Harmony; Henry Rutledge, of Stewartsville; Marie Davis, of New Harmony; and Technical Sergeant Thomas Rutledge, who was killed in action during World War II and posthumously awarded the Silver Star. Bertha Crawford is survived by a son: Terry Lee, and daughter-in-law, Jane (Erbacher Murphy), of Wadesville, Indiana; three granddaughters: Andrea Crawford and her husband, Michael Pippenger, of New York, NewYork, Ashli Crawford and her fiancée, Stephen Beeler, of Knoxville, Tennessee, Anne-Marie (Crawford) Giannone and her husband, Richard, also of Knoxville, Tennessee; four step-grandchildren: Kelley Oliver, Shannan Miller, Brett Murphy, and Courtnay Williams; seven step great-grandchildren; and numerous nieces and nephews whom she adored. In addition to her work keeping books for the family business and cooking large farm dinners, she worked for 25 years as a rural mail carrier and was active in Posey County politics, the Stewartsville Alumni Association, and the Bethsaida Christian Church and its cemetery, on whose board she served until her late 80’s. She was well loved by many and known, in particular, for her kindness, joyful spirit, good humor, hospitality, and cooking, especially her red velvet cake. The family expresses their deep gratitude to her caretakers at the Charles Ford Memorial Home in New Harmony, the New Harmonie Healthcare Center, and Heritage Hospice of Evansville. Funeral services will be held 11 a.m. Friday, August 28, 2015 at Werry Funeral Home, 615 Brewery Street, New Harmony, Indiana with burial in Bethsaida Cemetery near Stewartsville, Indiana. Friends may call 3-7 p.m. Thursday, August 27, 2015 at the funeral home. Charitable donations may be made in her name to: Bethsaida Cemetery Association, P.O. Box 142, Wadesville, Indiana 47638.

Bertha Elizabeth Crawford

August 2, 1920 - August 24, 2015

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